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Lifestyle & Human Interest

After 20-Year-Old Daughter Dies in Crash, Mom Gifted Recording of Her Heartbeat

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Gifts come in all shapes in sizes … and with all sorts of price tags, too.

But some things are beyond tags or barcodes.

They’re the priceless items we hold dear throughout the years. The things that don’t end up in yard sales or donation boxes.

These kinds of gifts have no shelf life. They may hold little value to the common eye, but the owner knows just how much these gifts are truly worth.

For Chalis Barrett, her daughter Madison was all the gift she ever needed. Sadly, the 20-year-old was killed in a car accident in August 2018.

Chalis is a nurse in Gowanda, New York and makes a living listening to the heartbeats of patients, day in and day out.

But the one heartbeat she longed to hear is the one she forgot to listen to in the final moments of her daughter’s life.

“That was the one thing I always regretted was not listening one last time,” the grieving mom shared with WGRZ.

Her story is heartbreaking but there is some light for the Barrett family. Christmas brought a special gift for Chalis thanks to her husband James and the Unyts organ donation organization.

In a video that has gone viral on Facebook, Chalis opens her very own, rainbow-colored Build-A-Bear. A seemingly juvenile gift, but when she heard what was inside it brought tears to her eyes.

“I heard my daughter’s heart beat, but not only that, I heard it in somebody she helped,” an emotional Chalis told WGRZ.

According to this nurse, organ donors have the capability of saving “up to 100 people.” She and James hope Madison’s story will have an impact and inspire others to consider becoming donors.

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What a truly incredible story and a beautiful gift this sweet mom will no doubt cherish forever. It is clear in the way she holds her Madison bear that this has helped her with her grief.

But more than that, the Barrett family has said making their daughter a donor has also helped them cope during this tough time.

For more information on organ donation, check out Donate Life or OrganDonor.gov. It only takes one simple decision to change someone’s life forever.

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Sarah Carri is an avid reader and social media guru with a passion for truth and life. Her writing has previously been published in print and online by Focus on the Family and other well known media outlets. Her experience in ministry and Disney entertainment gives her a unique perspective on such topics.
Sarah Carri is an avid reader and social media guru with a passion for truth and life. Her writing has previously been published in print and online by Focus on the Family and other well known media outlets. Her experience in ministry and Disney entertainment gives her a unique perspective on such topics.

Sarah's experience as a successful working stay-at-home mom and business owner has given her the chance to write and research often. She stays up to date on the latest in entertainment and offers her views on celebrity stories based on her wide knowledge of the industry. Her success as a former preschool teacher and licensed daycare provider lend to her know-how on topics relating to parenting and childhood education.

Her thoughts on faith and family issues stem from home life and ministry work. Sarah takes time to attend workshops and classes annually that help her to improve and hone her writing craft. She is a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature program and her writing has been acclaimed by ACFW and ECPA.
Education
Institute of Children's Literature, Art Institute of Phoenix (Advertising), University of California Irvine (Theater), Snow College (Early Childhood Education)
Location
Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Entertainment, Faith




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